The Silent Generation: Growing Up In The United States

The new generation are redefining themselves as the older generations are passing away; some seeking identify from their culture, while many others distance themselves from their ethnicity backgrounds.

“I have studies! I have statistics!” (par. 20) claims Joel Stein, a regular contributor for the TIME magazine. In “The New Greatest Generation: Why Millennials Will Save Us All,” Stein writes about the millennials, people born between 1980 and 2000. Using a very clever gimmick, he points out the unfavorable features of millennials at the beginning of his article, just to create a stronger rebuttal afterwards. He claims that the “millennials’ self-involvement is more a continuation of a trend than a revolutionary break from previous generations… [and] they’ve just mutated to adapt to their environment” (Stein par. 14). By utilizing rhetorical devices and various writing approaches, Joel Stein attempts to persuade the older generations to reconsider their opinion of millennials and presents his claim that the millennials inherited their characteristics from previous generations and have adapted to their environment.

Seniors born entre January 1, 1933 and December 31, 1945 are described as Post-War Cohort and have a current Population of 55 million, but their population is declining. According to extension.missouri.edu, they are retirees in majority and formed the largest voting population. Seniors or veterans also called Silent Generation inherited the consequences of the Great Depression of 1929 and World War II. They feel gratified by the effort or work, they are struggling to work and usually stay for long in the same company. They are obedient and respectful to authority, they are cautious and have a sense of duty but modern technologies such as information, communication and social networks are not obvious to them and may even be refractory. They earned less than today, but in their time, the quality of work was an art. Seniors born entre January 1, 1933 and December 31, 1945 value security, comfort, and familiar, known activities and environments. Like the baby boomers, the silent generation is committed in marriage even though some divorced. This cohort is a target composed mainly of women and men widowers who live alone for half of them, especially women. This cohort had significant opportunities in education as a post-war economic boom struck America.

As GenX circles middle age, there seems to be a re-evaluation of who they are and what’s important to them. While Millennials are grabbing the world by the horns and adventuring forward, GenX is trying to get unstuck and live a more fulfilling and rewarding life. The relentless pace of an always-on technology-filled-sound-bite life coupled with the stress of their life stage – peak earning years, job stress and for many raising children - results in a life that feels overly routinized and superficial. Through the collages and journaling of the EthnoBlogs and echoed in the Roundtables, we see a target group who is feeling like life today has dumbed them down and they are not as thoughtful or empathetic as they used to be (pre-kids and/or before technology took over). Yet, lapsed and lighter patrons are motivated and interested in rekindling the part of themselves that doesn’t just react, but that notices more, thinks harder and feels more deeply about the world around them.

Nearly 3.7 million American babies born in 1982 were the first members of the new Generation Y, or more affectionately known as millenials (Thompson, par. 1). Many things play into whether a generation is considered to be faring ‘better’ than another one; job opportunities, the state of the environment, whether the U.S. is at peace or at war, income vs. living expenses, the general happiness of the people, and the list goes on. Millenials are part of a special generation because

Millennials believe they have a god given right to say whatever they want. We are strong believers in the first amendment. My generation has vastly different beliefs on many popular subjects. They are argumentative and try to always make their beliefs and values the popular option. No one agrees on politics and ethical situations, but we do believe we have a right to be heard. We want peace, but try to achieve that through speaking our minds. We want to be more successful than our parents. We have beliefs, but to a radical state.

According to Aaron Kaufman in "An Open Letter from a Millennial to Society," baby boomers constantly quarrel with the millennials accusing the millennial generation of the conditions of the economy, however baby boomers will the ones who will suffer in the future. Kaufman explicates that all upcoming generations have received criticism from previous, but baby boomers have created a "venerable art" with millennials. The author explains the millennial generation is being generalized as being empathetic, however millennials are the opposite. The millennial generation is concerned with the mess of the economy caused by the baby boomers. Also, he discusses how the millennial generation did not have the advantage to enter into society with the opportunities

As GenX circles middle age, there seems to be a re-evaluation of who they are and what’s important to them. While Millennials are grabbing the world by the horns and adventuring forward, GenX is trying to get unstuck and live a more fulfilling and rewarding life. The relentless pace of an always-on technology-filled-sound-bite life coupled with the stress of their life stage – peak earning years, job stress and for many raising children - results in a life that is more focused on doing more than on being, observing, thinking and feeling. Through the collages and journaling of the EthnoBlogs, we see a target group who is feeling like life today has dumbed them down and they are not as thoughtful or empathetic as they used to be (pre-kids and/or

Altogether, the millennial generation can be seen as unrelenting heretics throughout their ideology against conformity, questioning authority and trust in government. Although the vast majority of these acts Millennials partake in are moral, the minority manage to favour disreputable behaviour that has led to the older generation labelling the millennial generation as uncontrollable, entitled, egocentric and shallow. However, Millennials should not be labelled based upon what a certain group of people participated in, rather on what the generation as an entirety believes in, which is equality for all in this

After watching Scott Hess’s Ted talk, I am even more intrigued about how others view millennials. Over the course of his presentation, Hess really focused on the differences between millennials and generation x (the generation after the baby boomers, born between 1960-980) and the differences between the two. Some examples are, millennials are more engaged, inclusive, and their parents act more as friends whereas gen x’s are judgmental, form various cliques, and their parents were very strict. As a result of these differences, Hess concludes that the gen x generation is possibly jealous of the way millennials live because of the technology and opportunities available to them.

Just as we witnessed a generational gap in ideals and lifestyles of the participants in “Young and Restless in China,” I saw similar generational differences and similarities in my own interviews and observations. I came to the realization that the generation can determine the personal experiences one has, therefore impacting a person’s ideals and lifestyles. There was also a comparable struggle of the younger generation striving to remain true to the traditions and ethics of their family’s while also keeping up with the changing society we live in today. When interviewing those of a younger generation and older generation on their views of the refugee crisis and refugees coming to America, I saw clearly how society progresses and changes

This article takes a convincing stand against individualism as the most significant driven force in the contemporary society. It suggests that the individualistic future is far from inevitable, but the rising generation for Americans needs help to resist individualism, because they cannot do it alone. Millennials are less likely to be married and religious, and less likely to be patriotic than earlier generations. The author argues that the Millennials’ liberalism and skepticism of parties and programs runs deeper than their adherence to a particular ideology, it has a common denominator – individualism. It explains many generational traits, the personal optimism and the social mistrust, the tolerance to minority groups and the decreasing interest

We’ve all heard of the Baby Boomer Generation, known for pushing the boundaries to receive more equality and personal freedoms by expressing non-traditional values compared to prior generations, but who is Generation Now? Generation Now is the title I have chosen to describe my generation, not because we are a more current generation but because of our “have to have it right now” characteristics.

Every generation has unique characteristics, attitudes, values, and beliefs which influence how they view the world. Significant life events that occur at critical stages of development can also influence and shape each generation. Homelanders, Digital Natives, iGeneration, Plurals, and Generation Z are all names associated with the newest generation. Although there is some debate about when the millennial generation ended and this new generation began, most researchers agree with a mid to late 1990’s start. For the purposes of this study, this generation will be referred to as Generation Z (Gen Z), born between 1995 and 2012 (Stillman & Stillman, 2017). Significant events that have shaped and influenced this generation are terrorism, economic recession, racial unrest, global competition, and social and ideological pluralism (Elmore, 2015) (White, 2017).

As the worlds population continues to increase; and our societies and economies continue to change, each generation that is born is raised in a vastly different environment to the previous generation and influenced by many different factors, and in some cases, revolutions. Baby Boomers, who grew up during a period of great relief and shopped largely on credit, do not have the same financial wariness that Generations Y and Z, who lived through the Great Recession, do. In addition, Baby Boomers and Generation X do not possess the same technological savvy as the Millennials and Generation Z. As a result, each generation develops unique cultural and social characteristics, and in turn, habits and demands of consumption and consumerism (WJ Schroder, s.a.).